Analysis of Human Resource Management interactions with other Departments - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1881 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? The HR is a term which describes the individual who comprise the workforce of an organization. HR is also named as the functions within an organization charged with the overall responsibility for implementing strategies and policies relating to the management of individuals. HR might set develop policies and strategies, systems, standards, and processes that implement these strategies in a whole range of areas 1.2 The Function of HR Department ? Selection, recruitment, and resourcing ? Designing the organization and development ? Changing management and Business transformation ? Conducting performance and behavior management ? Employee and industrial relations ? HR analysis and workforce personnel data management ? Rewards, compensation, and benefits management ? Training and development 2.0 The Perception of HR Department The size of HR department has been grown for over the past three decades. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Analysis of Human Resource Management interactions with other Departments" essay for you Create order However, numerous of the top managers from the firms think that other departments such as marketing, finance, and production department are more important than HR department. Let ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s discuss the reason why many top managers still believed the other departments are more important than HR department. 2.1 Less Productive Department ? None Revenue Generating The marketing department ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s main activities are marketing, targeting the customers and helping other department to determine the new product ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s need of the market. The production department ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s main activities are turning inputs into finished outputs through a series of production processes. And the finance department ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s main activities are preparing the firm ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s budget and appropriating the account. Those department ¿Ãƒ ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s main activities have the direct relation with the firm ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s revenues and from the generating the physical revenue, the top manager may see the profits. However, as mentioned above, the HR department ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s activities are not direct linked to the firm ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s revenues. This means that from the top manager side he or she is easy to see the money running form other department through their generating the physical revenues every day. But, the top manager is hard to see the physical revenue from the HR department because it is working impliedly. ? High Utilizing the Expense In other point, HR department is not generating the physical revenues but it has high utilizing the firm ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s expenses. HR department utilize the firm ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s expenses as recruitment, training and development (TD), compensation, and the payroll etc. comparing with other department, the percentage of expenses over the revenue is very high. So, the top managers are hard to see the effective production and cash flow (running money) in HR department. Therefore, the top manager might think it is less productive department and it is less important. 2.2 Indirect helping the achievement of firm ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s business objectives. The common objectives of the firms are achieving Survival, Profit Maximization, The Sales Growth, the Business Growth and Brand Image and so on. Marketing department helps the firm to achieve its objectives in developing the good brand image, increasing the sales through advertizing and surviving in the market. Finance department helps the firm to achieve its objectives in increasing the cash flow and increasing the productivity and efficiency via management consulting and business planning. Production department helps the firm to achieve its objectives in organizin g the resources efficiently to offer efficiently to offer the final consumer the best value and quality. The most departments help the firm to achieve its objective directly. However, the HR department does not help the firm to achieve its objective directly but, indirectly. Therefore the top managers might Think other departments are important than HR department. 3.0 The Methods to change the Perception of HR Department For changing the perception of HR department to the top managers, we may emphasize the importance of HR department to them. And let them know how the HR department helps the firm. 3.1 Less Productive Department HR department is less productive but helps the firm in reducing the cost. For maximizing the profit, there are two ways. One is increasing the revenues and the other is reducing the cost. Even though HR department is less productive department, it can help the firm to reduce the cost for maximizing the profit. There are several methods to reduc ing the cost in HR department. ? Reducing the number of employees HR department can reduce the unnecessary number of employees by restructuring or giving the multi task to employee. For example if there are inefficient employees, they might lay off them and pass the tasks which were handled by those employees to the efficient employees. It may occur some complains by remain employees but, HR department gives them some bonus or incentives. Giving the efficient employees the bonus or incentive is less cost than keeping the inefficient employees. ? Reducing the cost of Training and Development (TD) One of the HR department ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s tasks is TD for the firm ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s employees. As well known fact, the company spends a lot of expenses for TD for its employees. However HR department may change the TD program to mentor and mentee program, or on job training and with internal employee training, HR department can reduce the c ost of the firm. 3.2 Indirect helping the achievement of firm ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s business objectives. HR department also helps the firm to achieve its business objectives in directly. Indirect helping does not mean no helping at all. Even though it is in direct HR department still helps the firm to achieve its business objectives. There are several methods how HR helps the firms to achieve its business objectives indirectly. ? Recruitment, selection and positioning the employees. HR department ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s main tasks are recruitment, selection and positioning the employees. From this task it can help the firm to achieving the business objectives. Even though the marketing, finance, production department are productive, the department which does recruitment, selection and positioning the employees is HR department. If HR does recruitment, selection and positioning the employees not well, the other department cannot be efficient . Therefore HR department is helping the firm for achieving its business objective in choosing and positioning right person to right position to make other department to be efficient. ? Be a middle man between the top management and the employees for avoiding the strike HR department is also role as a middle man between the top management and the employees. From the counseling the employees, HR department might analysis the employee complaint and tries to solve the problem. If employees are not satisfied with the company it might caused the strike. If there is strike, it affects not only the firm ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s revenues but also it harms the company image too. So, HR department is role as a middle man to avoid the unexpected impact between the top management and the employees. ? Reducing the high turnover and holding the effective employees. If there are high turnover rate the firm should not be stable and it can affect the firm ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ €šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s revenues and it might cost high cost for training the new employees. So, providing the benefit and the compensation to the employees, the HR department reduces the high turnover rate. And also make the employees to satisfy the work in firm to make them not to leave the firm. ? 1.0 Introduction(Q2) A Job Description (JD) is the list of describing the general duties, responsibilities, tasks most important contributions and outcomes needed from a position, the reporting relationship of a particular job, and required qualifications of candidates. JD helps the employer to get the ideal candidate and specify the expectations. It also helps the employees to understand what their job requires exactly. The most of the employers require all the applicants to complete the job application form because it is the way for the employers to collect and keep the consistent data on the file for all prospective applicants. Starbucks is the largest coffee house chain company in the world. Let ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s look at the JD of the marketing manager in Starbuck and discuss about the insufficient information of JD and how to improve. 2.0 Job Description for Marketing Manager in Starbucks. The Starbucks marketing manager ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€š  ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s job descriptions are as followed: ? Leads project teams and sub teams to develop and implement new programs and process improvements. Manages projects in accordance with Starbucks established program management methodologies. Ensures that multiple projects meet specified timelines and deliver expected results. ? Manages and monitors project or program schedules, progress and costs to ensure that expected results are delivered on time and within budget. Maintains, adjusts and updates project plans as needed. Consolidates, communicates and ensures resolution of all issues. May develop and collect performance metrics. ? Represents business unit, department or functional area on cross-functional project teams. Provides functional expertise to assess potential financial and operational impact. The JD of Starbucks marketing manager does not provide the sufficient information. 3.0 The Suggestions of Improving JD for Starbucks Marketing Manager The Starbucks marketing manager ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s JD is too general like  ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Leads project teams and sub teams to develop and implement new programs and process improvements ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½ what are the new programs? It should better specify what the new programs are. 3.1 Suggested JD for Marketing Manager in Starbucks ? Developing and implementing of the promotional marketing calendar for all Starbucks stores. The marketing manager must be able to develop and implement the monthly marketing promotion planning to help all the retail stores. ? Developing and implement local store marketing events. The marketing manager must be able to develop and implement marketing events for local store including launching the new products and opening the new store as well as provision of counseling. ? Developing and implement the product placement opportunities and promotional events in Public Relations (PR) plans. The marketing manager must be able to develop and implement chances for placing the products and events in Public Relation (PR) plans for promotional usage. ? Developing and managing the annual marketing budgets. The marketing manager must be able to plan all the expenses in activities of the without over budget. ? Managing and coordinating all marketing, advertising and promotional staffs and their activities. The marketing manager must be able to well understand and lead the staffs in overall activities. ? Conducting market research to determine market requirements for current and future products. The marketing manager must be able to the market research to determine the existing or future products ? Analysis the customer research for current market conditions and competitor information. The marketing manager must be able to determine target segmentation for each product. And he or she has to know what the firm ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s competitors a re doing ? Monitoring, reviewing and reporting on all marketing activity and results. The marketing manager must be able to check and improve the all the overall activities in marketing department. 4.0 The Job Application Form of Starbucks The requested information in Starbucks job application is following: ? Personal information The personal information is requested because to identify the candidate and checking the qualification. Also it is needed for corresponding ? Employment desired The employment desired is requested because to check the candidate ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s willing position and the requirements ? Education The education information is requested because to check the qualification. ? Practical question The practical Question is requested because to get the candidate ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s perception of company. ? Former employers The former employers are requested because to get the candidate  ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s previous working experience and the reason why they leave the companies. Also it is needed for checking the candidate ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ¿Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ½s attitude in previous companies.

Essay on The Meat Inspection Act of 1906 - 710 Words

The Meat Inspection Act of 1906 was an attempt to regulate the meatpacking industry and to assure consumers that the meat they were eating was safe. In brief, this act made compulsory the careful inspection of meat before its consummation, established sanitary standards for slaughterhouses and processing plants, and required continuous U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection of meat processing and packaging. Yet, the most important objectives set by the law are the prevention of adulterated or misbranded livestock and products from being commercialized and sold as food, and the making sure that meat and all its products are processed and prepared in the adequate sanitary and hygienic conditions (Reeves 35). Imported meat and its various†¦show more content†¦This act, under the direct administration of the Bureau of Chemistry, forbade the interstate transport of illegal food and drugs, and exposed any responsible parties, that dare to violate the law, to penalty of seizure of the questionable products and/or prosecution. In fact, the foundation of the law relies on the regulation of product labeling rather than pre-market approval. The selling of Drugs, which are defined according to the standards of strength, quality, and purity in the United States Pharmacopoeia and the National Formulary, is denied under any other condition except that the specific variations from the applicable standards were clearly stated on the label. However, there were different standards that defined foods, but the law outlawed the addition of any ingredients that would alternate for the food, hide damage, generate a health danger, or constitute a filthy or decomposed substance. The controversial interpretations of the food provisions in the law engendered many, sometimes prolonged, court battles. In case the manufacturer decided to list the weight or measure of a food, this had to be done accurately. Also, the food or drug label could not be false or misleading in any part icular, and the presence and amount of eleven dangerous ingredients, including alcohol, heroin, and cocaine, had to be listed (Nash 276-77). III- Reaction of some of the Packing Plant Owners When the investigation was taking place, as mentioned inShow MoreRelatedThe Rise Of The Progressive Era1418 Words   |  6 Pagescities. Furthermore, they attacked big corporations, such as the Armour meat-packing company and others, for how harsh their practices were. The progressives exposed these companies and how they treated workers, removed competitors, and set high prices. The meatpacking industry capitalized when the growth of livestock farming in the Midwest started to grow rapidly. 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Life free essay sample

This paper will discuss manufacturing management which will focus on how manufacturing process management (MPM) can improve entire production process. In the early 1900s, it was allocated manufacturing expenses on the basis of direct labor cost. The manufacturing process was not automated. There were hardly any variations in the products made. In those days, when manufacturers increased the amount of direct labor, there was likely to be a related increase in such things as the number of factory supervisors, the factory space to be maintained, and factory upplies and utilities consumed. In other words, there was a high degree of correlation between the quantity of direct labor used and the amount of manufacturing expenses used. The first part of the paper introduces the definition of managing manufacture. How to manage a plant to get good efficiency in manufacture process included analyzing each scenario works to a smooth assembly line and arranging all of resources effectively to each product line. What effect did this style of writing have on you? Was it easier or more difficult than the usual novels you read? How did it help or hurt the actual story itself? Why do you think Cormier wrote this way? A mystery novel leaves clues and hints to get the reader interested; it causes isinterpretations, and in the end, it resolves the mysteries. What was the mystery, now were you misled, and now did the novel solve the problems? One theme of I Am the Cheese might be the confusion of leaving childhood and attaining adulthood. However, at the end of the novel Adam has not arrived at his maturity. Instead, he is still a teenager and still confused. Discuss in detail Adams confusion, insecurities, and their causes. The title of the novel refers to a nursery rhyme. Discuss two different ways the rhyme fits both the title and the story. Give at least three examples of how Adam/Pauls false memories conflict with reality. Compare and contrast what he believes truth to be with actuality. 6. I Am the Cheese should be a novel about Adams ability to find his true self after years of constant lies about everything. He can not find himself because of his mental problems, which were directly caused by years of his parents deceit. Adam confuses reality with memory, truth with lies, and past with present. He does not understand the situations in which he finds himself. Explain how these falsities, which Adam grew up with and believes to be true, make the inability to discover ones true identity a theme in the novel instead. A psychological novel delves into the thoughts, hopes, weaknesses, and fears of the main character. Psychology, combined with suspense and danger, can create a novel that is very mysterious. Describe the events Cormier uses to reveal Adams fragile psyche and how that contributes to the mystery and suspense. Put any five of the following major events of I Am the Cheese on a timeline in correct chronological order: Mother dies Family put under protection Car crash Father reports story Adam is institutionalized Adam overhears his parents Adam finds birth certificates Study Guide Student Copy PAGES 1 -11 VOCABULARY furiously rapidly slithering sliding Thomas Wolfe American author, wrote You Cant Go Home Again dreary dull, dark claustrophobic fear of closed-in places resolve decide provisions food reckless careless omen a sign about the future wavered swayed What is the setting of I Am the Cheese? What is the narrator searching for? What are three things he remembers? Who is introduced in the beginning of the taping? How can Adam be in bed and be telling the story of the bike Journey at the same time? PAGES 29 38 sanitarium asylum wary cautious ntensity in a state of excitement implacable unbothered loping running easily stalk to move threateningly camaraderie friendship apparition ghost-like overshadowed was more important than What makes it appear that Brint is a doctor? Is he? What is the first clue Adam gives? In the long flashback, what two characters walked together? What did they encounter before reaching their destination? PAGES 93 106 reverberates echoes loudly decibel measurement of sound volume On another narrow country road, Adam is overtaken by the three troublemakers. He tries to feel for something important. What is it? Which one of the boys is driving the car? The next four pages represent conversations between Brint and Adam. What is Adams general impression during this interview?

Stereotyping and Its Effects on Intergroup Relations

Stereotyping refers to when people have a collective perception towards some people in a group. In intergroup relations stereotyping causes people to be misguided about each other.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Stereotyping and Its Effects on Intergroup Relations specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This is because the individuals in one group judge the other group members according to the encounters they have had with people who are from the same background. Schwartz (2007) points out that this collective opinion about others is wrong because a nasty experience involving one member of a given group cannot gauge the entire group simply because few individuals cannot represent a community or a race. While analyzing groups its important to consider individual character because stereotyping can lead to misunderstanding and miscommunication. This implies that intergroup relations should take place at a personal level a nd the weaknesses of one individual should not be used to gauge the entire group. Levels of Discrimination Discrimination is the denial of equal opportunity to someone, just because he/she does not share common characteristics or views with you. For instance an employer can deny equal employment opportunity to women hence the bias is based on their gender. Gender discrimination is the highest level of discrimination across the globe because most communities do not reckon that women are equally competent like their male counterparts. Racial discrimination is the other level of discrimination because people of specific races mainly inhabit the geographical regions and thus, people from other races are biased because they are thought to be inferior because of their looks. For instance Africans may be denied equal employment opportunities not because they are not qualified but because of their race. The third level of discrimination revolves around religion. This is whereby some people think that their religion is more sacred than others are and thus, assume that other religions are false. This causes people who belong to that religion to be isolated and denied equal opportunities; for instance, Muslims can be denied the freedom of assembly in a Christian nation because they are thought to be terrorists. Meaning of Robert E. Park’s statement The statement of Robert concerning the fate of a marginalized person suggests that the victim struggles to be what the society expects him to be while retaining his identity. This happens when one interacts with people from different cultural background because he/she has to adapt to the culture of the host. This causes a lot of confusion because in as much as he/she wants to adopt the new culture he/she remains attached to his/her cultural background.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More When one adopts new culture, it is because he/she wants to be accepted by the majority with a different cultural background. From another perspective, the statement suggests that the fate of the marginalized person rests on the decisions made by the majority. This is because the majority groups tend to ignore marginalized groups and thus, they are denied equal opportunities. Edna Bonacich’s Split-Labor-Market Theory The Split-Labor-Market Theory states that the scramble for employment opportunities lies along ethnic and racial lines. This is because there are people from two diverse groups that are competing for the same job opportunities. Moreno (2006) argues that one community does not need hefty salaries and this causes the other community to be eliminated from the job market because they demand for more incentives. The eliminated group is bitter towards the group that requires less salary because if it were not for them they would have captured the opportunities. In the end, the employer benefits the mo st and he/she is free from any blame because all he wants is subsidized labor costs. The community that demands for more pay argues that they are more qualified than their counterparts are, and thus low salaries imply that the skills they posses are not important. References Moreno, D. P. (2006). Black Americans and Organized Labor, A New History New York: Louisiana State University Press. Schwartz, A. (2007, December 20). Stereotyping and its Damaging Effects. MentalHelp.net. Web. This essay on Stereotyping and Its Effects on Intergroup Relations was written and submitted by user Adriel Ingram to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

20 Controversial Essay Topics Hot Issues on Human Rights as a Form of Imperialism

20 Controversial Essay Topics Hot Issues on Human Rights as a Form of Imperialism If you are looking for a potential topic for your controversial essay on Human Rights as a Form of Imperialism, then look no further. Below are some sample essay topics that might be suitable for your next writing assignment. Remember that these are only meant to guide you and in some cases they may not be the most suitable selections depending on the guidelines of your assignment: Natural Law and Human Rights Violations Which Governments Use Human Rights as a Form of Imperialism How China Restricts Modern Internet Access to Control Tibet French Imperialistic Traces in Former Colonial Governments How North Korea Uses Limited Teaching, Talking About Threats to the Government, Helping Foreigners and Possessing Books Deemed Wrong as Imperialist Control Methods Portuguese Imperialistic Traces in Former Colonial Governments Governments Surveying Nations and Peoples They Deem as Threat: Human Rights as a Form of Imperialism Comprehensive Surveillance Used as Imperialistic Human Rights Control Measures Dutch Imperialistic Traces in Former Colonial Human Rights as a Form of Imperialism The Use of Continual Communications Monitoring in Businesses as Imperialistic Human Rights Control Measures Corporate Contributions to Western Politicians as Imperialistic Human Rights Control Measures British Imperialistic Traces in Former Colonial States: Human Rights as a Form of Imperialism Companies Using Advertisements to Control News as Imperialistic Human Rights Control Measures Asian Communities and Regimes Using Imperialistic Human Rights as Control Measures Japanese Imperialistic Traces in Former Colonial Governments Prominent Displays of Imperialistic Human Rights Control Measures in Modern Countries Complete International Media Control as Imperialistic Human Rights Control Measure Limited Information Availability as Imperialistic Human Rights Control Measure Belgian Imperialistic Traces in Former Colonial Governments Prevalence of Communication Monitoring as an Imperialistic Human Rights Control Measure These topics are specially designed for you to use together with   our 10 facts on human rights as a form of imperialism with a complete guide on this rare kind of academic work. Below is a sample essay on one of those topics to help give you a better idea of what your controversial essay should really be focused on: Sample Controversial Essay on Natural Law and Human Rights Violations Natural law is a theory of ethics, a theory of politics, religious morality, and civil law. The theory of natural law in terms of ethics can be applied to law, religion, and politics. In essence, natural law is determined by the universe, or human nature. It is most often referred to as the rules which guide moral behavior. Positive law is considered man made while natural law is that which is determined by nature. As such, natural law is a major component of critiquing positive law. Positive cannot be created or known without the foundation of natural law. As such, natural law can be used to determine legal statutes under natural rights or natural justice. Natural law states that certain rights are universally recognized by human nature. English common law, for example, has been greatly affected by natural law thanks to philosophers of the time including Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. Natural law plays a large role within natural rights and is a major component of the Declaration of Independence as well as the United States Constitution. Aristotle emphasizes the difference between nature and law. Law can vary in its command from place to place while nature remains the same in all places. As such, the law of nature was posed as a form of natural justice. Aristotle was said to be the father of natural law (Shellens, 1959, p. 77). Aristotle posits that natural justice is a subsidiary of political justice which should be established within a political community. Socrates argued that law is merely a matter of contract which binds those states men to their duty and to justice. Machiavelli argued that virtu’, even whilst occupying the role of a statesman, is circumstantial; that the best or just action might be considered unjust but is still serving the best interests. Machiavelli was a Western philosopher who was influenced by Greek philosophers such as Plato. Nonetheless, Machiavelli often argues against the philosophy of Plato. Plato believed in rulers who would rule based in moral virtue, which is defined by natural law or rather, guided by natural law. Machiavelli, conversely, believes in what he deemed â€Å"virtu† and suggested that what should be done is whatever was in the best interest of this, natural law aside. Plato speaks of the orderly universe in which we live. In The Republic, Plato suggested that ethics and politics overlapped in terms of their essential features and were, more or less, the same. He did not distinguish between public life and private life, as we do today. No private life was ever kept from the public during his time. During the time of Machiavelli, the reason for the state was to serve the people, not for the people to serve the state. Machiavelli believed that a ruler’s only purpose was making war and protecting citizens from other states’ attacks. This would mean only protecting the natural rights of the citizens of the country, even if it came at the cost of violating the natural rights of other citizens from another country. As such, a ruler was justified in acting in whatever fashion was necessary to maintain the country, even if said act was unjust. Plato argued that a ruler could never be unjust and could never violate natural law. Plato is against the ruler who rules based only on might, as seen in The Republic, and supportive of the idea of natural law or natural human rights. Socrates remained bound by an interest in ethics and natural law. He stated that knowledge gained by an individual is what makes for a good life. Knowledge is strongly identified as virtue. Thereby, if a person can obtain knowledge he or she can also obtain virtue and as such, one can teach virtue, particularly one who is in a position of authority as a leader. Knowledge of natural law would lead to an understanding that certain rights and justices are as natural as human nature and the universe and a continued education in such theory would show leaders and individuals involved in government that these were to remain as such. This creates a foundation for any political and economic system. Since the notion of private and public life being separate entities was not a popular one, Socrates stated that a person must seek knowledge prior t o seeking private interests because knowledge served as the only path to making decisions concurrent with natural law. References: Al-Jubouri, Firas A. J.  Milestones On The Road To Dystopia. Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014. Print. Bergman, Edward F, and William H Renwick.  Introduction To Geography. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1999. Print. Cortina Orts, Adela.  Covenant And Contract. LLeuven, Belgium: Peeters, 2003. Print. Larkin, Emma.  Finding George Orwell In Burma. New York: Penguin Press, 2005. Print. Larkin, Emma.  Secret Histories. London: John Murray, 2004. Print. Saccarelli, Emanuele, and Latha Varadarajan.  Imperialism Past And Present. Print. Spring, Joel H.  The American School : A Global Context. Print. Zhu, Qian et al.  The Politics Of Everyday Life: Non-Party Leftists In Republican China, 1919-1937. 2011. Print.

Practice English Using This Dialogue With a Famous Actor

Practice English Using This Dialogue With a Famous Actor Use this interview with a famous actor to practice speaking and pronunciation skills, as well as review important grammar points on tense usage. Read, practice with a partner, and check your understanding of important vocabulary and grammar points. Finally, create a dialog of your own with exercise cues. Interview Part 1: Practice Using the Present Simple and Present Continuous The first part of  the dialog concerns daily routines, as well as current activities.  Notice that the  present simple  is used to speak and ask about daily routines: He usually gets  up early and goes to the gym.How often do you travel for work?She doesnt work from home.   The  present continuous  is used to speak about what is happening at this specific moment in time, as well as around  the current moment in time: Im studying French for a test right now. (at this moment)What are you working on this week? (around current moment)Theyre getting ready to open the new store. (at this moment / around current moment) Interviewer: Thank you for taking some time off from your busy schedule to answer a few questions about your life!Tom: Its my pleasure. Interviewer: Could you tell us about an average day in your life?Tom: Sure, I get up early, at 7 in the morning. Then I have breakfast. After breakfast, I go to the gym. Interviewer: Are you studying anything now?Tom: Yes, Im learning dialog for a new film called The Man About Town. Interviewer: What do you do in the afternoon?Tom: First I have lunch, then I go to the studio and shoot some scenes. Interviewer: Which scene are you working on  today?Tom: Im acting out a scene about an angry lover. Interviewer: Thats very interesting. What do you do in the evening?Tom: In the evening, I go home and have dinner and study my scripts. Interviewer: Do you go out at night?Tom: Not always, I like going out at weekends. Interview Part 2: Practice Using the Present Perfect and Future Tenses The second section of the interview focuses on the actors experience from the past to  the present. Use the  present perfect  when speaking about experience over time: Ive visited many countries throughout the world.Hes made more than fifteen documentaries.Shes worked at that position since 1998. The  future forms  going to  and  will  are used to speak about the future. Notice that  going to  is used with future plans whereas  will  is used to predict the future. Im going to visit my uncle next week.Theyre going to open up a new store in Chicago.I think Ill take a vacation in June, but Im not sure.She thinks hell get married soon. Interviewer: Lets talk about your career. How many films have you made?Tom: Thats a hard question. I think Ive made more than 50 films! Interviewer: Wow. Thats a lot! How many years have you been an actor?Tom: Ive been an actor since I was ten years old. In other words, Ive been an actor for twenty years. Interviewer: Thats impressive. Do you have any future projects?Tom: Yes, I do. Im going to focus on making a few documentaries next year. Interviewer: That sounds great. Do you have any plans beyond that?Tom: Well, Im not sure. Maybe I will become a film director, and maybe Ill just retire. Interviewer: Oh, please dont retire! We love your films!Tom: Thats very kind of you. Im sure Ill make a few more films. Interviewer: Thats good to hear. Thank you for the interview.Tom: Thank you. Practice Exercise: Create Your Own Dialogue Use these cues to create your own dialogue with a famous actor. Pay careful attention to the time words and context to help you choose the correct tense. Try to come up with different possibilities.   Interviewer: Thank you / interview. Know / busyActor: Welcome / Pleasure Interviewer: work new film?Actor: Yes / act in Sun on My Face this month Interviewer: congratulations. Ask questions about life?Actor: Yes / any question Interviewer: what do after work?Actor: usually relax pool Interviewer: what do today?Actor: have interview today! Interviewer: where go evening?Actor: usually stay home Interviewer: stay home this evening?Actor: no go movies Interviewer:   which movie?Actor:  not say Example Solution: Interviewer:  Thank you for letting me interview you today. I know how busy you are.Actor:  Youre welcome. It was  a pleasure to meet you. Interviewer:   Are you working on a new film these days?Actor: Yes, Im acting in Sun in My Face this month. Its a great film! Interviewer:   Congratulations! May I ask you some questions about your life?Actor:  Of course you can! I can answer almost any question! Interviewer:   Great. So, acting is hard work. What do you like doing after work?Actor:  I  usually relax at my pool.   Interviewer:   What are you doing today for relaxation?Actor: Im having an interview today!   Interviewer:   Thats very funny! Where do you enjoy going in the evening?Actor: I usually just stay home! Im boring! Interviewer:   Are you staying home this evening?Actor: No. This evening Im going to the movies. Interviewer:   Which movie are you going to?Actor: I cant say. Its a secret! Key Vocabulary take time off   stop working in order to do something elseaverage day   a normal or typical day in someones lifestudio   the room(s) in which a movie is madeshoot some scenes   act scenes from a movie for the camerascript   the lines the actor needs to speak in a moviecareer   your job or work over a long period of timefuture projects   work that you will do in the futurefocus on something   try to do only one thingdocumentary   a type of film about something that happened in real liferetire   stop working

MDCM CASE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

MDCM CASE - Essay Example The services that are provided by the company must also be of standard quality. The company has been suffering loss in the market in spite of all its steps and strategy designed for the customers and company’s benefit. The company shares its benefits and losses with the customers in order to form close relations with the customers. With the passage of time, the company has identified the importance of its global status. It has expanded by opening many offices, branches and acquisitions in different parts of the world. However, the company identifies its lacking procedures and slowed information collection and update due to which, it goes through transformations under the heading of Horizon 2000. The company requires a well established IT strategy in order to meet the competition in the market. This paper analyzes the issue in detail. Strategic Goals of MDCM MDCM does the business of medical devices contract manufacturing and is well reputed because of its expansion with the pa ssage of time. The company has well defined strategic goals and due to some problem with meeting the goals, the company has faced continuous losses. The strategic goals of the company are as follows (Jeffery & Norton 1-7): To facilitate the customers with their required devices within due time. To develop an online ordering and account management system that the customers will be able to use themselves. To provide an end-to-end package of medical device contract manufacturing services. To design and fabricate specialized equipment used in the assembly of manufacturing services. To form close partnership arrangements with its customers. To share rewards and risks of the business with its customers. To work with customers as close as it is possible. To reduce manufacturing costs to their lowest level. To maximize customer satisfaction by delivering quality parts and assemblies on time. To expand its business by opening new offices and manufacturing facilities close to its largest cust omers. To maintain that the acquisitions that the company makes, allow the company to spread its operational excellence while keeping the foreign companies autonomous enough to be able to better serve their local customers. Competitive Environment The firm MDCM faces a strict competition in the market because of more firms in the same business. With increasing concept of globalization, more people are active in market and provide globalized facilities to their customers due to which, all the firms face challenges to work towards success and expansion of their business on global basis. MDCM has designed a strategy to form good and close relation with its customers by involving them in their business as the company used to share its rewards and risks with its customers. However, with new businesses introduced in the market, this practice was copied and conducted by other businesses as well due to which, a competitive environment was created in the market (Jeffery & Norton 3). As a com petitive strategy, the company MDCM opened many offices at locations, which were near to their largest customers. Along with offices, the company also made a number of acquisitions. According to Jeffery & Norton (2006), â€Å"the acquisition targets were all non-US-based companies that had competencies in contract manufact

Cultural studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Cultural studies - Essay Example Saddam’s death also brought to the fore the long and protracted problem that is the US-Iraq war, now fast losing popularity because of the failure of the Bush administration to locate weapons of mass destruction. These weapons they claimed, are the reason they launched an attack against Saddam a few years ago. But most importantly, the death sentence should provoke reflections on fundamental conceptual differences between peoples. We in the West take human rights for granted; we believe these are cherished ideals to be fought for, as they are the foundation of a robust democracy. On the other hand, in Islamic countries, libertarian values may not be as important. Order and religion is primordial, and individual rights must bend in favor of the stability of the State. We ask, which paradigm is more correct? But perhaps the more crucial question to ask is: who is to say which paradigm is the more correct? In a sense, the quotation â€Å"One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter† does not necessarily have to refer to a particular man. In its broad sense, it refers to divergent paradigms and disparate value systems, and to take it one step further, the tragedy that is wrought when these systems collide. This paper will discuss the conflict between Western perspective and Eastern perspective with regard to the crucial issue of human rights. Indeed, we have been quick to label those who advocate measures that to our minds are repressive, as dictators or terrorists or right wing conservatives, when in fact, they are merely acting in accordance with the cultural norms of their community. The converse of that, of course, is that far too many leaders justify brazen acts of oppression and injustice as a cultural norm and should thus fall outside the scrutiny of the international community. How indeed does one balance these competing interests? The concept

Literature Review and Starbucks Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Literature Review and Starbucks - Case Study Example This article declares that comments of customers regarding the service of the company should be considered. This will help the company improve its service towards customers. This aspect is the most important consideration of Starbucks. Customers should be treated properly and in the right manner such that they might return back to the same company – â€Å"You want the customer to know that you care about them and you want to give them the newest technologies available; such as wireless hubs in most Starbucks coffee shops†. A partnership is formed between Starbucks and Conservation International in order to encourage production of coffee in an environment friendly manner such that the supplier bargaining power problem may be resolved to some extent. This report makes a conclusion that the food and beverages industry is the sector where large portions of expenditure of disposable income are made. The coffee industry falls in this category and Starbucks is the largest coffee chain in the world. The chain has faced serious problems in the recent past over their quality and time management. However, with proper care it can address and rectify the problems. The service area should be the first priority of the company and all the employees should be trained to realize the importance of customer service. Customers should be received warmly and more staffs could help in improving the speed of service. The company has already taken important measures in this direction for instance, installation of automated machines at the coffee stores.

Financial performance of ABC Ltd

Financial performance of ABC Ltd Introduction Accounting is concerned with collecting, analyzing, and communicate accounting information. The accounting information is helpful to those people who make plans about business and in making important decisions related to the business The aim of this paper is to evaluate the financial position of the company and the importance of credit manager to achieve credit sales targeted and importance of actual figures when estimating the budget. This paper consists of two main sections. In the first part, evaluation of the financial position of ABC Ltd uses gross profit margin and net profit margin. The second part concentrates on things need to consider when preparing the budget in order to prevent from biased budget. Part A A) Evaluate the financial performance of ABC Ltd. Over the four year period. Financial ratio examines the financial health of the business. It helps to identify the financial strengths and weakness of the business. By calculating the ratio, it is possible to provide a good picture of the financial position and performance of a business. Financial ration can be represented in numerous ways. For example, as percentage, as fraction and as proportion. Financial ratio can be classified into profitability, efficiency, liquidity, gearing and investment. ABC Ltd company’s financial performance is evaluated by using profitability ration of gross profit margin and net profit margin. Gross profit is the difference between the sales and cost of sales. And the ratio is a measure of profitability in buying ad selling goods and service before any other expenses are taken into account. For example: Gross Profit Margin = Gross Profit x100 Sales = 119800/296700 x 100 = 40% Gross profit for the year one is 40%. The most appropriate measure of operational performance for comparison purposes is the Net profit margin ratio. The factors which influence the net profit margin of a business are the degree of competition, type of customer, economic climate and industry characteristics. For example: Net Profit Margin = Net profit before interest and taxation x 100 Sales = 22500/296700 x 100 = 8% Net Profit Margin for the Year one is 8% Gross profit margin of ABC Ltd company has fallen down from 40% to 33%. And again increased to 38% and fall down to 36%. The decrease of the gross profit margin of ABC Ltd was a result of high production cost of the company. The raw material used to produce goods and services has increased. As a result the company is experiencing less gross profit margins. Nonetheless, the Net profit margin of ABC Ltd has been maintained for the last two years, Year 3 and Year 4. Whereas in Year 1 company had a high net profit margin and it gradually decreased and company experience loss of (2) % of Net profit margin. This may be because the company’s Gross profit margin decreased from 40 to 33 and affected the company’s net profit margin. Moreover, it may be the reason that, the company has high expense such as high selling and distribution expense, Administration and other general expenses. After experiencing a loss in Year 2, company gain 7% of net profit margin in Year 3 and year 4 also. This shows company has minimized their expenses and cost of sales and increase their revenue by generating more sales. Below show graphical demonstration of ABC Ltd financial performance. According to the above table, all the accounts except the financial expense of ABC Ltd, all others have increased. Total sales increased. Meaning that number of goods and services sold by ABC Ltd have increased and generated a huge amount of revenue. However, the cost of sales also has increased. But compared to sales achieved, cost of sales is less than the sales generated. Meaning that the money generated by sales by the company was spent to make the sales, such as raw material, Equipements, machineries cost. Therefore the company gross profit has increased. The expenses spent to generate the revenue are selling and distribution expenses, administration and other general expenses and financial expenses. All expenses have increased except financial expenses. This may be due to each years increase in sales of the company. As demand for the goods and service increases, more number of good and services are produced. And to deliver the products to customers, costs incurred will be high such as delivery cost, transportation cost and other administrative cost related to the delivery of goods and services. Financing expenses have decreased such as rent paid, electricity, fixtures and fitting etc. As a result Net profit of ABC Ltd increased by $10,845. Part B A) Why credit manager is to blame for poor credit collection There are certain causes why credit manager is to blame for the deterioration in the credit collection period which are beyond the credit manager. Downturn in the economy When the budget was formulated, during that time economy may have been in a very good condition like in a boom. Businesses earn profits and their ability to pay the suppliers would be strong. And based on credit worthiness, ABC company Ltd has released goods on credit facility during that time. After two months of time, the economy turned into recession. During recession, companies reluctant to spend money and have difficulties in paying to debtors, lenders and suppliers. Henceforth customers, who have bought goods from ABC Ltd under the credit facility, would not able to pay as agreed terms and conditions. Liberalize credit policy The next reason which credit manager cannot be blamed, is a formulation of credit policy terms and conditions and implementation of the policy. When developing a credit policy there are certain conditions which should take into account. For example, buyer’s strength in the market, available net profit margin, size and type of buyers, buyer’s creditworthiness and many more. Any credit policy should include the range of payment, terms, prepayment terms, installments, penalty interest, conditions of sales, methods of assessing customer, explaining credit rating and risk codes, legal actions, follow up methods, staff responsibility and authority, relationship with another and arbitration process. If these clauses are incorporated into the policy, and customers are aware before getting into any sales and customer agreed by signing the terms, then the customer will be binding to it. As a result the credit manager would able to claim for the payment accordingly to the agreement, if a customer is disobeying the agreed terms and conditions. Therefore, it is a responsibility of policy makers of the company and senior management to come up with a strong policy and implementing it. And this could be done in coordination with a credit manager. Another reason could be that, even if the company has a strong policy, without acting upon it, we cannot achieve what we want. For example, if the sales persons or sales manager, or senior management, issue goods without checking the credit worthiness of customer with their friends or close customers and they make own payment paying term their way without consent of credit manager. Increased competition among suppliers The business environment is very volatile. Competition among business increases steadily. Being proactive would be the best solution for the success of the company. During the tough competition, it is essential to revise the credit policy terms as accordingly to customer needs and affordability. Otherwise competitors would be offering more attractive conditions and they are likely to get all customers resulting gain the market share in the business sector. And ABC Ltd would not able to get enough customers to achieve the credit targets allocated in the budget. Quality of goods and services If the quality of the products offered by ABC Ltd is very low, then the customer will refuse to buy the products. Even if they buy the product if the quality is below their expected level, then the payment will be held for some time. And it’s a responsibility of the production department to produce the goods with good quality according to customer needs. The goods Delaying in delivering If the company is unable to deliver the goods at the agreed time, then the customer would not able to depend on the company. In other words, failure to deliver the promises will lead to loss of customer and low dependability. Therefore, it is important for production department to provide raw materials and other necessary material to produce goods and it’s their responsibility to deliver the goods to customers on time. If the company fails to provide this, then the customers would prefer other competitors and faces low market share and generate low profit. Relationship with sales and credit department The relationship between sales staffs (or sales manager) and credit manager is very important. The credit manager responsibility is that to provide further guidance to achieve sales to the sales staffs. Why manager might submit a budget estimate that is biased. And ways to Company guard against it. According to the CIMA definition of budget, it is a plan quantified in monetary terms, prepared and approved prior to a defined period of time, usually showing planned income to be generated and/or expenditure to be incurred during that period and the capital to be employed to attain a given objective. There are types of budget, managers use when preparing the budget. One of the methods is incremental budget. The budget is prepared using the previous year budget as a basis with incremental amount is added to the new budget. Resources are allocated based on previous years resource allocations. The main advantage of this type of budget is that it is easy to understand and implement and also save time. This could be one of the reasons why budget estimates are based. The main reason is that incremental budget does not take environment changing factor into considerations. Due to changing is economy, budget need to be revised basically periodically and necessary amendments need to be done. Another problem is that, incremental budget does not have incentives to innovative ideas and to reduce cost. Another type of budget could be fixed budget. In fixed budgets, figures are fixed at the beginning of budgetary period. Any change in circumstance, these cannot be changed. For example, due to high inflation, raw material costs (others as well, such as machinery cost, about cost, rent, electricity) increase more that which is estimated in the budget. In fixed budget this cannot be changed. Therefore, actual expenditure exceeds than the estimated value in the budget. A good way to mitigate the budget that is based is that having shorter review periods. For example, if estimated budget is for one year. Then managers can review the budget after three month period or on quarter basis. The second way to guard the company from base budget is that to approach zero based budgeting. Budget starts from zero and items included in the budget should be justifiable to the budget holder. All expenses allocated for the whole project, should justify each activity separately and develop a questioning attitude. This helps to minimize the over spendinging and inefficient. Therefore company cannot spend more that what it is estimated and from the estimated expenditure, expected profits will be generated. Conclusion From above discussion, we can conclude that, increase in company gross profit would have a direct impact on net profit. Generating more sales will increase the gross profits and by minimizing the company expenses, the companies net profit would increase. And the profitability can be compared against the previous years by using ratios and trend analysis. Secondly, businesses normally prepare the budgets annually and quarterly. Regular evaluation of budgets prevents from overspending and adjust the budgets, according to changing the environment. And also in order to achieve high credit facility a budgeted, not only the credit manager should work on it. Other department staffs like sales and senior management should play an important role in doing so. References Atrill, McLaney, Harvey Jenner 2012, Accounting an introduction, 5th edn, Pearson Australia. FICM, GB 1986, Â © 2004 FECMA , viewed 1 December 2014, http://www.fecma.eu/Documents/FECMA%20Credit%20Policy%20chapt%20%201.pdf>. McLaney, E Atrill, P 2010, Accounting An Introduction, 5th edn, Pearson Education Limited. Riley, Jim 2012, Tutor2u Limited, viewed 1 December 2014, http://www.tutor2u.net/business/accounts/incremental-budgeting.htm>. Schaeffer, MS 2012, Essentials of Credit, Collections, and Accounts Receivable, John Wiley Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, USA. Page 1 of 14

Prohibition of Alcohol

Salvatore Norge Tim Walsh English 101-L01 3 November 2010 Arguing Positions: Prohibition of Alcohol Alcohol abuse is an extremely ravaging calamity, and many resolutions have developed as a result of its effects. The eighteenth amendment was ratified in 1920, and eliminating the legal use of alcohol was adopted. Also known as the prohibition of alcohol, it became effective in the United States of America. Its intentions were to prevent the manufacture, import, export, sales, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages.After thirteen years of execution, it was repealed in 1933 due to the ratification of the twenty-first amendment. Alcohol is presently legal throughout the United States, and approximately one-hundred thousand deaths occur each year attributed to alcohol. Is prohibition the answer? Prohibition has delivered a handful of issues to the United States. Crime rates dramatically increased as groups, street gangs, and gangsters were involved in multi-million dollar orga nizations dealing with illegal sales of alcohol.Saloons quickly evolved into areas used for illegal sales and consumption of alcohol, which were later known as speakeasies. Social problems were attributed to the prohibition era, and played a wide role with public opinion. Thing began to heat up as repeal was eagerly anticipated. Alcohol abuse is presently a serious problem in the United States. Risk and health loss is rapidly increasing, and alcohol remains accessible to anyone meeting certain legal requirements. The use of alcohol is persevered throughout America, and it’s held accountable for a large number of problems.In 2005, there were 43,443 alcohol related traffic fatalities in the United States. Sixty percent of all homicides are attributed to alcohol. The abuse of alcohol affects the psychological state as well. There are more than twelve million alcoholics in the United States, and alcoholism is considered the number one drug problem in the country. Hundreds of thou sands of family members and friends are directly affected from this concern. Imagine the number of alcoholics that would seek help if their addictive substance was illegalized.Who would respect the prohibition of alcohol once returned? It’s likely for both the law and alcohol to be abused considering another prohibition. That would cause more chaos for the country. On the other hand, alcohol isn’t always necessarily being abused. Moderate alcohol drinkers tend to live long and healthy lives. A glass of wine a day may increase heart health, and alcohol doesn’t stop its benefits with the heart. A few drinks a day may lower the risk of a variety of illnesses and extend life.It seems that arguments for legalization of alcohol are holding ground against prohibition. The controversy has allocated the country waist deep in obstacles, and who wants to obtain such a conceding way out? The authorities of the United States have appeared to resign against fighting the illeg al use of alcohol, and have resumed all opportunity for legal access to alcohol use. Why haven’t controlled substances been illegalized anticipating future issues with drug wars? Numbers don’t lie, and neither does a positive attitude behind a righteous cause.

Computers in Healthcare Essay

In all aspects of life—home, work, socially—a basic understanding of computer operation is by and large a necessity. Even the medical field has become dependent on computers, both to record vital patient information, but also for billing, researching maladies, and prescribing medicines. This report takes a look at how and why health care professionals use computers, where computers are used in the health care system, and how all this new technology is affecting the medical field for both the patient and provider. Health Care Professionals use computers because they boost productivity. Health care staff, for instance, can more easily keep and access medical records. Specific computer programs also allow physicians to analyze patient data both statistically and mathematically, which leads to the creation of multimedia patient records. A multimedia file is an image, text file, a video clip or audio file–anything that can be displayed or played on computer monitors or speakers. An example, a cardiologist can use a computer to scan a patient’s EKG strip, and then attach that image to the patient’s permanent record for future reference (Spekowius and Wendler 38-39). The ability to store patient data on a computer hard drive reduces paperwork, and the number of staff members needed to maintain that paperwork. Having a patient’s file just a few computer clicks away also cuts down on the time it takes a physician to locate the necessary information. Beyond simplifying office paperwork, computers also open lines of communication between the patient and physician. Physicians who engage in emailing can easier answer patient questions, and cut down on phone calls. Computers are used throughout the Health Care System. Clerical staff relies on computers for reports, memos, patient records, billing, statistics, insurance claims, as well as charting and researching graphics. Nursing stations depend on computers for reports, patient records, along with hospital information systems. And computers are critical in the operation of patient monitors, medication delivery systems and lab equipment (Spekowius and Wendler 76). Also, in medical education, computers are essential for Computer Aided Instruction, Computer Managed Instruction, and Interactive Multi-media systems (Forman and Pomerantz). Beyond all of these uses, the computer has become increasingly necessary for diagnosis, research, publication retrieval (National Library of Medicine), and automated patient interview and history. Computers have become increasingly vital to Pharmacies. With the use of computers, pharmacists can fill prescriptions, control the dispensing, and talk with the patients through a video hookup. People living in remote areas also may use computers to order and receive their prescriptions without having to make a special trip into town or even leave their home. This is a particularly valuable tool for the elderly. Also, physicians now are able to type prescriptions into computers and email them to pharmacists, cutting down on errors because of sloppy doctor handwriting. Computers have become commonplace in Radiology. Radiologists use computers to prepare and store patient case histories, prepare conference talks, and to examine images. Computers are especially important when examining images; radiologists depend on digital radiography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, nuclear medicine, and ultrasonic imaging (Trovato). Computers can also enable a radiologist to view an emergency case from home, reducing the response time when dealing with a crisis situation. In radiology it is imperative that the computer system be powerful enough to observe very fine images; faulty screen imaging could lead to a false analysis, and possibly compromise patient health (Leach). Computers are also used in surgery to produce a three-dimensional image of the organ that is being operated on. This technology is especially useful to young surgeons, small clinics and developing countries where such sophisticated imagery has previously been unavailable. In addition, this type of surgery is less invasive on the patient, so recovery time and cost are reduced. Genetics is another area of medicine in which the use of computers has been increasingly useful. Pharmacogenomics, for instance, helps determine what drugs are compatible with a patient’s gene type. Gene information obtained from a patient blood sample is entered into the computer, which then determines which drugs may not be compatible before dispensing. In the future doctors may be able to use a similar method to determine the most effective type of chemotherapy for a cancer patient. This could save a patient from having a series of unnecessary and ineffective treatments (Mandel). Computers also allow access to the Internet, which can be a very useful tool when trying to run an office. Connecting to the World Wide Web can help lower costs, improve patient/member service and assist in the delivery of better-coordinated care. The physician is able to compile and analyze data from a single or multiple number of sources, reveal health problems, and even gains a better understanding of a treatment’s financial performance. Also, the Internet is a great marketing tool for a physician’s medical practice. The Internet is awash with medical information, which is both useful for patients and possibly detrimental. Some patients who should see a doctor instead try and self-diagnose using information gleaned from computer research. So many medical sources exist on computers—much of it valid, good information—that a person might read the symptoms and believe they have a particular disease and try to treat themselves. Faulty treatment of a medical problem could lead to more serious medical problems down the road. Another pitfall to consider is how web sites allow a person to seek medical advice by querying a so-called physician online. The problem: That advice may be coming from an accredited medical person–or someone pretending to be a physician. So now with all this talk about how computers can be very beneficial to the medical field, one may wonder if computers do a better job than humans. The answer: Yes, due to a computer’s flawless memory. Even though physicians have the desire to be efficient and thorough when it comes to their patients, they are human and they occasionally make mistakes. Computers accurately remember vast amounts of information, which is especially important these days given all the emerging medical information and technology in the world today (Spekowius and Wendler 439). In conclusion, it is obvious that the medical field has benefited greatly since the advent of computers. Without computers the world would not be as advanced as it is today. New discoveries might never have been made, unnecessary tests and treatments would have been performed, and lives would have been lost. Computers are propelling the medical world into a new dimension where literally anything is possible—including increased longevity, cures for cancer and paralysis reversal. It is indeed a win-win situation for physicians and patients. Works Cited Forman, Lloyd J. and Sherry C. Pomerantz. â€Å"Computer-Assisted Instruction: A Survey on the Attitudes of Osteopathic Medical Students.† JAOA Medical Education (2006): 572-575. Leach, Michelle. â€Å"Computed Radiography Vs. Digital Radiography.† n.d. ehow. February 2013

Bueller, Ferris Bueller essays

Bueller, Ferris Bueller essays Ferris Buellers Day Off was released in the summer of 1986, and was a mild box office success. However, in the years following its release Ferris Buellers Day Off has grown into a contemporary American movie classic. The basic premise is that Ferris Bueller is the brilliant kid who knows just how far he can push parents, teachers and computer technology. Ferris decides that the sun is shining, he needs a day off, and his best friend Cameron needs a day off worse than he does. Ferris elaborate schemes lead him and his friends on an adventure around downtown Chicago, and in the end everything works out according to plan. What is truly amazing is that every aspect of the movie works just as well as Ferris plans. To really appreciate this movie you have to look at it in three different areas. John Hughes not only wrote an original and entertaining script, but he also brought his vision to the screen as director on Ferris Buellers Day Off. The acting is the second area, John Hughes wrote very interesting characters, but he also picked perfect supporting actors to complement Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller. The last area is its impact it has had on our society. "Ferris Bueller" was directed by John Hughes, the philosopher of adolescence, whose credits include 16 Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. It could be argued that Hughes was the king of high school movies. Virtually all of his works dealt with teenagers and the issues that they face. Ferris Buellers was one of Hughes first comedies, and it is the most original movie about high school that has ever been made. There wasnt a movie like it before it was made, and since many attempts have been made to recapture what Ferris Buellers brought to the table. Unfortunately, that is impossible. A big part of Ferris Buellers magic was the originality o...

Creative Inspiration from David Bowie

Creative Inspiration from David Bowie The news of David Bowies death reverberated through the world and caused an outpouring of words of affection, admiration and grief at the loss of such an incredible artist. Bowie was known for his creativity which included not only his music and lyrics but his physical appearance and the personas he created. Any individual seeking creative inspiration can find a gold mine of it in Bowies life and work. Here are some ways David Bowie manifested as a creative genius. Keep Ch-ch-ch-ch-changin Bowie was famous for his ability to constantly reinvent himself. Even in the early days of his fame in the late 60s early 70s, he experimented with different styles from hippie-folk to heavy metal. Perhaps his greatest transformation was the invention of the rock persona Ziggy Stardust. At the time, many felt that Bowie could have ridden the fame and popularity of his Ziggy persona to the end of his career, but at the height of his popularity, he decided to kill Ziggy and move on to other experiments. In America, he explored funk and soul music and then released his most popular album â€Å"Lets Dance† which was the ultimate ode to rock and the most popular of his career. But even the popularity of this album didnt tempt him to ground his artistic vision and his next phase was a Berlin-inspired industrial and house/electronica experiment. Bowies ability to keep moving forward and constantly explore new artistic styles are what made him the icon he became. Indulge in Artistic Angst but Dont Self-Destruct Bowie had some dark moments in his career. One of his most successful and yet darkest phases was during the time he spent in LA. The glamour and glitz of LA stardom, the parties and cocaine-fueled recording sessions sent him on a tailspin into darkness. Unlike other stars riding their fame into self-destruction, like Iggy Pop, Bowie was able to put an end to that phase when he left LA and moved to Berlin. Change of Scene Can Be Inspiring Just as his move from the UK to LA proved to be an enormous boon to his career, his decision to leave LA and station himself in Cold-War Berlin was another artistically driven choice. The grit and realism of Berlin was the complete opposite of the surreal opulence of LA. The experience grounded him as he moved into yet another creatively experimental phase. Collaborate with Other Artists Bowie enjoyed working with other artists and some of his greatest creative endeavors were the result of these collaborations. Mick Jagger, Freddie Mercury, Brian Eno and Iggy Pop were included in some of his most successful team projects. He once famously called the then virtually unknown guitarist Phil Palmer at his mothers house to ask him to collaborate on an album since he felt his own guitar skills were subpar. He was known for being generous and respectful of other peoples work and didnt let fame or ego get in the way of his artistic vision. Set Your Standards and Stick to Them No matter how famous he became, Bowie didnt abuse his fame. He held himself to a strict work ethic. Though he had a phase where he lost himself in drugs, particularly cocaine, he always managed to pull himself together to perform, record and give interviews. His foil during his LA years was Iggy Pop, who became known for his unpredictability and where Iggy allowed himself to be dragged under by his drug addiction, Bowie set limits for himself and maintained his professional ethics. Dont Be Afraid of the Unknown Bowie was always pushing the boundaries of his art. He was never repetitive or boring. Each album was borne of a daring new journey into unknown waters as he constantly sought to find a new voice and a new inspiration. He explored with musical technology and was known for being fearless and pioneering. His natural curiosity allowed him to follow many different artistic paths to the delight of his fans and music lovers. Bowies artistic vision was fueled by his constant striving for newness. He never allowed himself to settle into one style or voice and as a result, his lifes work is rich and diverse.

Is global warming due to human actions Can the human race take action Research Paper

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Financial Statements & Ethics - Assignment Example The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in alliance with the United States Congress in 2002 created the Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX). Starbucks Cafà © hired an external auditing firm to perform an independent audit of its 2010 financial statements. The Sarbanes Oxley Act mandates that all public firms hire an accounting firm to audit its annual financial statements. There are many bylaws of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that ensure auditor independence is followed. Section 201 of the Act prohibits auditors to perform other non-audit services on clients the company audited (Findlaw). The Sarbanes-Oxley Act also created the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). All public accounting firms performing auditing work must be registered with the PCAOB. On November 2, 2010 the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche performed the Independent Auditor Report of the financial statements of Starbucks for fiscal year 2010. The findings from the audit were that the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material aspects, the financial position of Starbucks Corporation and its subsidiaries as of October 3, 201 0 and September 27, 2009 (Annual Report: Starbucks, 2010). My opinion is that contracting the services of outside firms for auditing and fraud detection services is a sound managerial practice. Based on SOX it is mandatory for public firms to hire external accounting firms to perform annual independent audits. The use of external consultants to prevent fraud can increase the efficiency of a system. The external consultants will look at the company from a fresh perspective. An employee might be closed minded and biased and may miss things due to overconfidence and carelessness. One of the cons of the use of external auditors and consultants is that they can very expensive. Consultants can not monitor the daily activities of a firm otherwise they would become full-time employees. There is a need to create internal controls to prevent fraud. These

Cleft Lip and Palate and its Effect on Speech Essay Example for Free

Cleft Lip and Palate and its Effect on Speech Essay Introduction on Speech and Phonetics   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Phonetics and phonology are concerned with speech – with the ways in which human produce and hear speech. Talking and listening to each other are so much part of normal life that they often seem unremarkable. Yet, as in any scientific field, the curious investigator finds rich complexity beneath the surface. Even the simplest of conversations – an exchange of short greetings, for example – presupposes that the speaker and hearer make sense to each other and understand each other. Their ability to communicate in this way depends in turn on proper bodily functioning (of brain, lungs, larynx, ears and so on), on recognizing each other’s pronunciation a bewildering jumble of unpronounceable and unintelligible noise only underlines the extent of our organization and control of talking and listening within particular social and linguistic conventions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Once we make a decision to start with an examination of speech, we can come up to it on a range of steps. At one step, speech is an issue of anatomy and physiology where we can examine the organs of speech such as tongue and larynx and their role in the creation of speech. Taking another perspective, we can focus on the speech sounds produced by these organs – the units that we commonly try to identify by letters such as a ‘b-sound’ or an ‘m-sound’. But speech is transmitted as sound waves themselves. Taking yet another approach, the term ‘sounds’ is a prompt that speech is proposed to be heard or supposed that it is then probable to concentrate on the manner in which a listener understands and process a sound wave (Clark, Yallop, Fletcher, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Phonetics is the study of the sounds of natural language. The use of sounds in speech involves three distinct phases: 1) the production of sounds by the speaker, 2) the transmission of sounds between the speaker and the hearer, and 3) the reception of the sounds by the hearer. Each of these phases especially 1) and 3), which clearly involve the human brain, is an extremely complicated process, each needs to be understood if we wish to have full understanding of the workings of human speech, and each requires its own methods of study. The science of phonetics thus consists of three main branches, each devoted to the study of one of the phases of speech.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Articulatory phonetics is the study of the way in which speech sounds are produced or ‘articulated’ by the speaker. It includes a description of the organs of speech, such as the vocal cords, the tongue and the palate, and how they are used to produce sounds. The description of speech in articulatory terms has a long history, going back to ancient times, and is still considered the most useful type of description for language teaching purposes. Acoustic phonetics is the study of the transmission of speech sounds through the air in the form of air waves. Precise studies of the transmission stage of speech rely heavily on electronic equipment which has only been available since the 1930s and 1940s, but in the relatively short space of time since then great strides have been made in our understanding of the transmission of speech sounds. Acoustic phonetics is not as important in pronunciation teaching as articulatory phonetics, but it can be of valuable assistance in certain areas such as the description of vowel sounds or intonations, which are not easily described in articulatory terms. Auditory phonetics, finally, studies the processes in the ear, auditory nerve and brain which lead to the perception of sounds by the hearer (Hall, 2003). Organs of Speech   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first essential for the student of Phonetics is to have a clear idea of the structure and functions of the various parts of the organs of speech. The term organs of speech is used to refer to parts of the body in the larynx and the vocal tract that are involved in the production of speech. It is a misleading term in that it suggests that we have special physical organs for speaking. This is not so: all our so-called ‘organs of speech’ have primary biological functions relating to our respiratory system and the processing of food (Gussenhoven Jacobs, 1998).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The organs of speech are all bodily structure composed of a variety of tissue types (such as bone, cartilage and skin) which are specific to their biological (rather than linguistic) function. Bodily organs are generally grouped into systems which have particular functions in the life of the organism. These include the respiratory system, the digestive system, and the reproductive system and so on. While it can be argued that the organs of speech form a system, they do not contribute to life support in the same way as other systems, and they are generally not thought of as performing their primary biological function when they are used in speech production (Clark et al., 2006). Nature of Speech Defects   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Speech is a motor act that requires little concentration once it is learned. The energy source for speech is air. The diaphragm is the primary muscle of respiration and air is inhaled and exhaled through the vocal tract, the diaphragm contracts and flattens; this enlarges the thoracic cavity by displacing the abdominal contents downward and expanding the thoracic volume. The external intercostals assist the diaphragm in increasing the size of the thoracic capacity. If these movements are not coordinated, the supply and control of air may be reduced. Lack of coordination occurs during inhalation when the abdominal muscles contract simultaneously with the diaphragm and push the abdominal contents upward. This upward movement decreases the size of the thoracic cavity, which reduced the amount of air available for the production of speech. Restriction of the air supply may lead to reduced loudness, illogical breath groups, limited pitch range, decreased intelligibility and increased expiratory effort. Respiration for speech should be effortless and coordinated with phonation and resonation. Adduction of the vocal folds in a stream of air produces phonation. During quiet respiration, the vocal folds are abducted to an intermediate position by the poster cricoarytenoid muscles. Changes in the vibration pattern may result in altered voice quality, pitch, and loudness and decreased speech intelligibility Communication is a closed loop system. When individuals speak, others hear them and respond to their speech. In addition, individuals hear themselves speak and monitor their speech production. If speech production does not match the specific intention, then speech os modified. When speakers have a speech disorder, they may compensate for the impaired speech production by changing their respiration, phonation, and articulation. If this compensation is carried out in an effortful way, the compensation may be counterproductive and may worsen the symptoms (Brin, Comella, Jankovic, 2004). Speech Assessments   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Speech assessments proper are established from the age of 4 years and allow objective evaluation to take place over a long period.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The articulation of phonemes is routinely evaluated during sessions of repetition as well as free speech.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The speech-language pathologist (SLP) will also evaluate the child’s speech production and some of the aspects of phonology. The SLP will ask the child to say various syllables or words and evaluate the â€Å"correctness† of what the child says. The SLP is trained to listen and compare all aspects of speech to a criterion of correct production. The SLP will comment on the child’s voice quality. Does the child’s voice sound like a typical child’s should at that age? Is it too high-pitched, strained, or too nasal? The SLP will comment on fluency, or the relative ease with which the child talks. Does the child stutter or stammer? The SLP will also perform oral-motor exam. In this exam, the SLP asks the child to do some movements incorporating his tongue, lips, teeth, cheeks, soft palate, and jaw. These movements are checked to see if the child has any weakness or coordination problems with the muscles and structures of the mouth that would influence the child’s ability to produce the speech sounds correctly. The SLP will also do an articulation test. In this test the SLP asks the child to say a group of syllables or words that contain all the sounds of English. The SLP makes a judgment about how correctly the child produced the sound. Sometimes the SLP marks whether the error was an omission (the child did not say the sound at all), a substitution (the child substituted one sound for another; for example the child said â€Å"pish† instead of â€Å"fish†), or a distortion (the child said a sound that was not the correct speech sound and did not sound like another sound). The SLP will list which sounds were produced incorrectly and make suggestions for follow-up therapy (Easterbrooks Estes, 2007). Cleft Lip and Palate   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is the term applied to a fissure in the roof of the mouth (palate) and/or the lip which is present at birth. It is found in varying degrees of severity in about 1 in 700 children. Modern plastic surgery can greatly improve the appearance of the baby and often further cosmetic surgery later will not be necessary. The parent of the child who has cleft lip and/or palate will be given detailed advice specific to his case. In general the team of specialists involved are the pediatrician, plastic surgeon, dentist or orthodontic specialist, and speech therapist (Havard, 1990).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The deficiencies associated with cleft palate depend on the location of the defect in the palate. In the normal palate, the tensor veli palatine and levator palatine muscles within the soft palate insert into an aponeurosis at the midline raphe. In the cleft palate, the muscle fibers follow the medial margin of the cleft and insert into the medial cleft edges and the posterior edge of the lateral bony hard palate. Clefts involving the alveolus can disrupt normal dental development, eruption, and retention.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The subject of normal human facial growth is extremely complex and incompletely understood; and superimposing a cleft defect complicates an already complex process. Many children with clefts will develop collapse of the alveolar arches, midface retrusion, and resultant malocclusion as they approach their teenage years. The underlying cleft deformity itself, as well as the surgical procedures performed to correct the defect, has been implicated as possible contributing causes of these developments. Currently, controversy exists regarding the relationship between surgical procedures and maxillary growth in terms of the sequencing of the surgical procedures, the timing of the cleft repair; whether or not the cleft repair itself has an effect on maxillofacial growth, and the various surgical techniques of lip and palate repair. Of interest, it is common in nonsyndromic older children whose cleft is unrepaired to have relatively normal midfacial projection and occlusion (Bailey, Johnson, Newlands, 2006). The Effects on Speech and Resonance   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dental problems in children with cleft lip and palate or craniofacial syndromes can be quite complex. These problems frequently require dental specialists to coordinate treatment with other health care providers in order to properly manage the patient. The specialists involved usually include a pediatric dentist, an orthodontist, an oral maxillofacial surgeon, and a prosthodontist. Together, they monitor and treat problems of the developing dentition, occlusion, and facial growth of the cleft lip/palate patient. As dental professionals reconstruct the oral environment, the speech pathologist leads to a more holistic management of the structural and functional effects of dental and speech abnormalities (Kumme, 2000).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Speech may be difficult to understand and have a muffled nasal quality, the greatest difficulty being in the pronunciation of consonants. This type of inadequate closure leads to the diagnosis of ‘cleft-palate’ speech, even though the palate is anatomically closed. In some cases adenoid tissue helps to close the space, so its removal by surgery or its decrease at the time of adolescence leads to further deterioration of speech. There may be associated, non-specific neurological symptoms (Baird Gordon, 1983). Cleft Palate Repair   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The reasons for cleft palate repair are improved feeding, speech development and protection of the Eustachian tube, and effect on the growth of the middle third of the face. Not enough attention was paid to the hearing in cleft palate patients and, in the earlier years, the speech was also not given important consideration. All the attention was focused on the growth of the middle third of the face but if one misses the hearing and the speech, the damage is irreversible. The timing of cleft palate repair has always been governed by geographical location. In the European Centers, the repair is delayed for considerably longer, even up to six to seven years. In the English speaking countries, the repair is done around one year of age, but why leave these repairs till so late as speech usually develops by seven months? Physiologically, it is better to repair the palate before speech starts developing, so that postoperative edema and scarring settles down, it is then better to operate in the cleft palate at four months. Traditionally, the treatment of cleft lip and palate was to repair the cleft lip and anterior palate (single layer closure) between six to 12 weeks of age and repair the palate at about 18 months (Desai, 1997).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Currently, the majority of surgeons around the world who treat many of these children prefer to operate around 3 months of age for physiological and technical reasons. A 0.25mm error in alignment in a 1-day-old- child will show noticeable 1 to 2mm malalignment by age 1 year. The cleft palate is repaired best at around age 12 months. This is a compromise. Earlier repair may be an advantage for speech, but it is a disadvantage to subsequent facial growth. Late repair has an opposite effect. It is subsequently easier today to correct an underdeveloped midface in the 10% to 20% of patients in whom it may occur, rather than trying to correct bad speech in nearly all patients so treated by late palate closure. Cleft lip and palate need no longer be devastating deformity that it was 30 years ago, if untreated by an experienced team (which needs to see at least 40 new patients a year), the child should be expected to have normal speech, a symmetrical lip with a fine scar, a nose close to normal in appearance, and a full set of well-fitting teeth. To achieve this requires good patient and parent cooperation. In most cases, further surgery will be required by age 5 years to improve the nose shape. The wearing of orthodontic braces is almost inevitable but should be limited to 1 session in early adolescence. With good psychosocial support and good parenting, such children should grow into normal well-adjusted adults. However, if the quality of the surgery is bad and repeated operations are carried out, the speech and hearing are ignored and the teeth are not treated, then a very different psychological outcome will be present. Unfortunately, this still occurs even in the most advanced countries, if children are treated by either inexperienced or inadequately trained people, or without the benefits of a team approach, or where the team does not have a big enough population load to maintain its expertise (Eder, 1995). Surgical Management of the Primary Deformity   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lip Adhesion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If the child presents with a very wide cleft lip and a palate, it may be advantageous to â€Å"help† the cleft to become narrower, thereby facilitating the surgical outcome of the cleft lip repair. Most commonly, presurgical orthopedic molding of the wide cleft palate and lip can be accomplished with a process called â€Å"taping.† In taping, a strip of hypoallergenic tape is applied with tension across the cleft and secured to the child’s cheeks. The tape is worn 24 hours a day and reapplied as needed. Taping causes molding of the bony tissues by applying gentle pressure onto the protruding bony portions of the maxilla. This simple technique can be extremely effective in reducing the width of the cleft in a nonsurgical manner. When taping a ineffective or not tolerated by the infant, a lip adhesion can be considered. The goal of a lip adhesion is to surgically convert a complete cleft lip into an incomplete cleft lip, allowing the definitive lip repair to be performed with less tension. The lip adhesion also orthopedically molds and improves the alignment of the underlying maxillary segments before definitive lip repair. Lip adhesion, if indicated, is the initial procedure and it is performed at 2 to 4 weeks of age. Definitive lip repair follows the adhesion at 4-6 months of age, which allows the scar to mature. The following criteria are used to determine if lip adhesion is needed (following failure of the taping technique): Wide, unilateral complete cleft lip and palate where closure with conventional lip repair might produce excessive tension on the incision Symmetric, wide bilateral complete cleft lip with a very protruding premaxilla Introduction of symmetry to an asymmetric bilateral cleft lip A disadvantage of lip adhesion is the introduction of scar tissue, which can occasionally interfere with the definitive lip repair; although not usually a major concern, this has prompted some surgeons to limit its use. Cleft Lip Repair If no medical contraindications exist, and a lip adhesion has not been performed previously, definite lip repair is accomplished at 8 to 12 weeks of age. In the United States most surgeons follow the â€Å"rule of tens†: lip repair is performed when the infant is at least 10 weeks old, weighs 10 pounds, and has hemoglobin of 10 g. Cleft Palate Restoration Historically, the exact timing of surgical closure of the cleft palate has been controversial. The desire to facilitate velopharyngeal competence for adequate speech favors relatively early closure of the palate, whereas the possible negative influence on maxillofacial growth and occlusion favors relatively late closure. Anatomic factors to consider when evaluating the palate include the extent and width of the cleft (between both the alveolar ridge and palatal shelves); position of the maxillary segments; and, in the bilateral cleft, the size, position, and degree of protrusion of the premaxilla and prolabium. In both unilateral and bilateral complete cleft palate, collapse of the lateral maxillary segment can occur following the lip repair. In some cases, preoperative orthopedics can be used to realign the maxillary segments in a more normal position before the palate is repaired. In bilateral cleft, presurgical orthopedic treatment consists of molding the nasoalveolar process with progressively modified splints, and achieving lengthening of the deficient and short columella tissue, leading to an improved nasal appearance with a single stage procedure. Other groups favor techniques that allow for intranasal correction of the deformity and malposition during the lip repair. Although insufficient space exist to describe all the commonly used techniques, the principles of bilateral lip repair are common among them, including creation of the philtrum from the prolabium and midline tubercle from the lateral vermilion. A symmetric, bilateral complete cleft lip and palate with an adequate and moderately protruding prolabium and premaxilla are used as an example. Asymmetric, bilateral cleft lips and those with a rotated premaxilla can be treated with a one or two-stage closure (using the lip adhesion as the first stage). For children with an extremely protruding premaxilla, presurgical orthopedics may be required before definitive lip repair to move the premaxilla posteriorly, either surgically or via molding with appliances or tape (Bailey et al., 2006). Clinical Alert   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Daily use of folic acid before conception decreases the risk for isolated (not associated with another genetic or congenital malformation) cleft lip or palate by up to 25%. Women of childbearing age should be encouraged to take a daily multivitamin containing folic acid until menopause or until they’re no longer fertile (Kumme, 2000).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Use of a contoured speech bulb attached to the posterior of a denture to occlude the nasopharynx helps the child develop intelligible speech when a wide horseshoe defect makes surgery impossible. Special nipples and other feeding devices are available to improve feeding patterns and promote nutrition in infants with a cleft lip or palate (Eder, 1995). Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is no comparable series of routine cleft lip repair in newborn within 48 hours over a long period using the same technique; it is extremely difficult to fulfill such requirements as the temptation to alter the technique or timing is so great.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Every now and then, ideas about the treatment and techniques are reported in the literature or at conferences. There was considerable opposition to, and criticism of, our work at every level, nationally as well as internationally.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If one contemplates surgery in the newborn, then a proper team should be assembled. A surgeon should only undertake such a project if he feels it will help the child, not to impress other surgeons. A time will come when there will be fewer surgeons undertaking the treatment of these children in specialized centers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is a safe procedure in the hands of dedicated clinicians and surgeons. Pediatricians and the anesthesiologist should have a final say in the decision for surgery. It is possible to do a formal repair. The scar revision in unilateral cleft is comparable to any other series. In bilateral clefts the plan is to lengthen the columella, repair the orbicularis and narrow the philtrum at the same time at about four or five years of age. It may be worth looking at the technique of palate repair. One has to find a way to achieve repair early on in order to maintain hearing and speech results while achieving excellent maxillary alignment (Desai, 1997). References: Bailey, B. J., Johnson, J. T., Newlands, S. D. (2006). Head Neck Surgeryotolaryngology (4th ed. Vol. 1). Tokyo: Lippincott Williams Wilkins. Baird, H. W., Gordon, E. C. 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Savage, Maryland: Rowman Littlefield. Kumme, A. W. (2000). Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Anomalies: The Effects on Speech and Resonance. San Diego, Canada: Thomson Delmar Learning.